


Fly For Me

by CYPCANDS



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Angst, Beomgyu has anger issues, Best Friends Choi Beomgyu & Choi Soobin, Best Friends Choi Beomgyu & Choi Yeonjun, Complicated Relationships, Endearments, Fluff and Angst, Fulfilled Promise, Key chains, M/M, Oblivious Kang Taehyun, Pendants, Promises, Setter-Spiker relationship, Volleyball, Volleyball Matches, lots of flashbacks, things escalated quickly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:00:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28421355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CYPCANDS/pseuds/CYPCANDS
Summary: An attacker needs a great setter, and a setter needs a great attacker. Without the other, they cannot be the same.Or... are they?
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu/Kang Taehyun, Choi Soobin/Choi Yeonjun, Huening Kai/Kang Taehyun
Comments: 7
Kudos: 25





	Fly For Me

"Tyun!" Beomgyu quickly tossed the ball towards the left side of the court, where Taehyun is getting ready to attack.

The blockers from the other team didn't see the attack coming because of how quick it was.

As Taehyun hit the ball, he didn't hear anything besides his heart beating. They're already at match point after getting three dueces.

The success of their game depends on his attack, and as much as possible, he wanted to finish it with that attack.

He felt the ball touch his palms, the enemy team rushing towards him- trying to block him, but he knew that they wouldn't make it. Their libero and captain tried to reach for the ball, but it already hit the floor.

That time, all he could hear is the ball hitting the floor. His heart calmed, and his feet touched the ground. He was relieved.

The arena went wild, drums and trumpets from their school's marching band started playing. The music was familiar, and when the students realized what it was, they started singing their school hymn.

A victory once again, for their school. The team coach got his eyes teary, too many clutches were made during the match. But without the help of their wing spiker and setter, they wouldn't succeed.

"Tyun..." Beomgyu walked towards the person that made them victors. His eyes teary, he suddenly felt proud.

Taehyun was crowded by their teammates but his eyes and attention were all at Beomgyu.

He watched Beomgyu walked towards him slowly, the world stopping like there's only the two of them living in that world.

His feet reacting to the setter's action, he walked towards him, time started ticking again, but everything is still slow. He stopped walking when the setter stopped his action.

There they are, standing infront of each other, crying. They can't believe that they won this match. They didn't expect to be the victors of this season.

"Beom, we... we actually won!" The spiker's voice fainted, his arms wiping his sweat and tears. The setter only nodded and pulled him into his arms, hugging him tightly.

_**That, was our 4th junior year. Our last year to play in Junior High. Last year to try to be victors and, we did it love... we did it. We became champions. Our duo shone because of that last play we did.** _

_**We decided to go to same college, same club, enter the volleyball team, train together, play together. We were always together.** _

_**We were strong back then...** _

_**What could've gone wrong?** _

"Gather up!" The college team captain, Seijou, shouted, ordering all members to gather infront of him. He was at the door of the gym, waiting for his teammates to properly gather up. Behind him stood their coach, and an unknown person.

Everyone was sweating and panting, tired from their postponed training. The gym ventilation luckily helped them to breathe properly.

"As you all know, we had an exchange student from the other university, it just happened that he was also a volleyball player. From now on, we'll have a new teammate, Olimnus' Giant Setter, Kai." Their coach announced, amusing the whole team.

The team were smiling at themselves, knowing that another powerful player will be playing on their team.

Behind the crowd, stood Taehyun and Beomgyu. Taehyun had been smiling since they gathered up. It's a smile different than excitement.

A smile of fondness.

"That's why he's familiar." Taehyun whispered, trying to contain his smile and excitement. He became fiddly all of a sudden, and Beomgyu noticed it.

He noticed his actions but something is different. He was seeing something different. He was feeling something different.

It was a look that he saw before, that look of admiration and fondness, maybe even more than that.

_"Counter!!" The A team's setter shouted and all of the other 5 players ran towards the net, and jumping, confusing the other team's blockers with their attack._

_Taehyun and Beomgyu, being on the same team, alligned themselves for their combo_. _Beomgyu stood at the middle of the net facing the left side of the court. He waited for the ball to fall for him to toss it._

_At the side of his eye, he saw Taehyun ran fast and jumped at the left side of the court. At the same time, the ball finally fell and their setter insantly tossed it to the spiker for him to hit it._

_The B team predicted that the setter would toss the ball to the left side of the court yet the blockers hesitated, which led to the superior team to score a point._

_"There it is, #2's sharp spike, what can we do with that? That's basically our team's weapon" A player wearing a blue #3 jersey laughed it off, but he's pretty disappointed. They got tricked by the other team once again._

_"Keep that up_ _Tyun_ _!" The A team's setter shuffled the hair of the guy wearing the green jersey with #2 in it._

 _Taehyun smiled at the older's praise. He's used to it but everytime the older praises him, it felt different_ _._

_"W-Well, the set actually freaked me out, it was accurate, a-and just the toss I liked hitting." The spiker tried to contain his smile, but a tap on his shoulder released his lip from his teeth._

_He's feeling too much, better than anything else. Plus, getting a toss from the best setter around, made it even more special._

_The_ _tap on his shoulder made his eyes widen, meeting the eyes of the setter. Whether they admit it or not, it's obvious that their duo was something more than partnership and friendship. Everyone knows it, except for the two of them._

_"If you want to smile, shout, or celebrate, just do it. Your heart won't be able to hold all those emotions even if you tried. Or if you're having a hard time expressing any, you know I'm here." That statement broke every barrier between them, and there, stayed comfort and trust._

_Their teammates stared at the setter. He never expressed his feelings that much, only Taehyun can make him do that._

**_A duo that only them can keep up with the other. A duo that completes the other._ **

_"Clean up you two, you can flirt all you want after cleaning up. We'll just try containing our jealousy in the club room." Their team captain smiled at them proudly, everyone in the team also looking at them proudly._

_The team started to clean up, as well as Taehyun and Beomgyu. They kept glancing at each other. Everyone was so done with their cuteness._

_It was subtle, but everyone accepted who they are no matter what._ _No one was against their relationship._

**_That, were just the start of the journey of the new team. A stronger team, with stronger bonds._ **

**_Yet bonds still break, like a rope getting loosened as the time went by._ **

Morning practice ended like a flash. Everyone went out of the gym and headed to their classrooms for their classes.

The gym is starting to get empty as Beomgyu waited for his boyfriend to come out of the club room. He's carrying both their bags, Taehyun's bag is empty as he decided to only bring his clothes to change and leave his bag with Beomgyu.

Minutes of waiting later, Beomgyu decided to go out of the gym and check on the younger.

As he stepped a foot outside the gymnasium, he saw his boyfriend laughing with the team's giant setter.

It struck him. Taehyun's laughs were so graceful yet it was rare for him to hear it. But Kai... he'd been hearing it since earlier.

"Beom! Kai wants to hang out with us, is that okay with you?" Beomgyu's mind went blank for a split second. Taehyun looked so excited over mentioning Kai's name. It didn't made him jealous, it really did not.

He stood there with his hands inside his pocket trying trying to hide his clenching fist. Luckily, Taehyun was too focused on asking about Kai.

Beomgyu looked at his shorter boyfriend again, his mind arguing whether he would allow Kai to be with them or not.

Taehyun's eyes were pleading, hoping and waiting for the older's answer while grabbing onto Beomgyu's arms.

His fist unclenched, mind becoming clear. He got a grip of his thoughts and emotions, and finally decided what to do.

It was against Beomgyu's will yet he still nodded hesitantly and instantly looked away from his boyfriend.

Taehyun ran towards the club room, excitedly called Kai, who looked a little off, he was still shy, knowing that he'd be third wheeling the couple.

Beomgyu cleared his mind and that that it was just a meal, they're just hanging out, and going out.

And since that day, they would bring Kai with them, Beomgyu looking like a third wheel because of how close Taehyun and Kai were to each other.

Beom was getting fed up, he's Taehyun's boyfriend but people around him, and the volleyball team thought that him and Taehyun broke up, and now Taehyun is dating Kai.

He kept repeating to everyone that they're still dating happily.

And, another of those ones occured.

Beomgyu is getting ready for training, he was changing his clothes when some of his teammates asked him once again, about his relationship with Taehyun.

He was standing infront of his locker, placing his uniform inside it, along with his school shoes, and school bag.

He was clearly uncomfortable with how his other teammates look at him and whispering with themselves.

The club room is quite crowded since their teammates are getting ready but it's obviously noticeable that some people's gazes and attention were directed to Beomgyu.

Beomgyu got annoyed at the lads standing at the entrance of the club room, yet he ignored them and walked out of the club room.

His brows furrowed as he sighed. The rays of sunset hit his eyes causing him to close it which annoyed him more.

He's just finding everything annoying.

He started walking down the stairs of the club room but he was stopped by the same lads who nervously asked about something that would piss him off and threw him over the edge.

One lad spoke throwing a repeated and tiring question.

"Beomgyu, are you still dating Taehyun? Him and Kai-" Just the mention of Kai's name ticks Beomgyu off. He then decided to keep it cool, and answer them as soon as possible, and to release the tension.

He turned around and his gaze immediately scared the lads standing infront of the door.

He clicked his tongue and went upstairs again, looking at the lads face to face.

He wanted to hurt them but he can't– He couldn't, he shouldn't... he wouldn't.

He took a deep breath and tried his best to calm himself down.

"I told you, I'm still dating Taehyun. We're just bringing Kai with us because he want to make friends. Taehyun being too kind of a person, volunteered to bring him with us" Beomgyu said and his teammates laughed at him. They started looking at each other again. Moments later, Beomgyu knew this is going nowhere and made his way to the gym.

He once again walked down the stairs and to the rocky ground at the end of the staircase.

He forced a smile, knowing that Taehyun would be there to take care of him and calm him down.

But as he opened the door to the gymnasium, he saw that Taehyun was already practicing spikes.

He's relieved that he won't have a hard time forcing the other do the spikes again.

But what he saw next just ruined everything.

Taehyun was practicing spikes without Beomgyu, without the team's best setter, without his boyfriend. He's practicing with Kai, the new setter.

Beomgyu's cool just went totally off. He lost his calmness as he can't bear seeing those two happy, especially Taehyun. He can't stand seeing him happy without him.

That's when he became selfish. He returned to the club room and packed his things with tears in his eyes.

The other lads inside the club room looked at him in confusion. Others whispered to themselves that Beomgyu already figured out that he was oblivious this whole time.

One of the lads that talked to him earlier laughed and talked, making fun of him.

"Beomgyu, do you now see what we see?"

"I see it, clearly." Beomgyu said with a low voice which removed the smile of the lads from their faces.

Instead of finding it funny, the lad who tried to provoke Beomgyu felt bad. He didn't mean to make the other upset like that.

Beomgyu skipped practices for a week, slept in class and didn't talk to anyone, even to Taehyun.

He's aware that they have a game coming up, but he didn't care, since there is another setter in the team.

 _ **'T**_ ** _hey'd be alright, as long as Kai is with Taehyun'_** He thought. He kept skipping the practice, it went for almost two months, his boyfriend never contacted him, or even looked for him. It was just painful. No one from the team looked for him, when he's totally just inside the campus.

He only wanted to be found, why can't they look for him?

_It's the end of the week again. Second week of training without the team's best setter, Beomgyu._

_For the meantime, Kai took over his place as a setter while everyone was waiting for him to come back._

_Some of them felt bad for teasing and making fun of him and thought that because of what they did Beomgyu decided to nit show up during practices._

_And_ _as usual, Taehyun was practicing spikes with Kai, but he kept zoning out. Without his boyfriend, he can't be happy, or even smile._

_"Taehyun, you're zoning out again, everything alright?" Kai spoke worried about the spiker's condition._

_He walked closer to the shorter_ _and tried to keep a smile on his face._ _With ball in one hand, he smiled at the shorter and ruffled Taehyun's hair with his other hand._

_"Let's trust him, I know he'll come back." Kai assured the shorter. The other smiled weakly, thinking that maybe Kai was right._

_They continued their practice, all of them need to set aside what's happening and focus first on the upcoming game._

_Another hour of training passed, and finally, the clock hit 5 pm, it's finally their dismissal after a fun tiring day of practice._

_Everyone went up to their club room and started changing their clothes, but Taehyun stayed inside the gymnasium._

_Taehyun stood near the bench where his bag is placed. He squatted down and picked up water bottle._

_He drank almost half of it before zoning out for the nth time today._

_**'T**_ ** _h_** ** _ough_** **_Beomgyu is not here, I still need to practice'_** _Taehyun thought, and drank the remaining water contained inside the bottle._

_With that he threw the bottle and practiced by himself again. He was getting tired, picking up the balls, serving, spiking and receiving._

_He wouldn't get this tired if only Beomgyu is there to remind him to stop overworking himself and get some rest every after half an hour._

_Taehyun gave up and rested. He walked towards the bench and reached out for his bottle again. He drank it and he kept taking deep breaths to catch his breath._

_But because of his tiredness, he didn't notice that fell asleep._

_Another person's prescence appeared around the gymnasium. It was a lad who brought jacket, towel, and water bottles._

_He spotted Taehyun who fell asleep on the bench. From the door of the gym, he walked towards the bench and stared at the sleeping lad. He smiled and kissed his forehead softly and gently, not wanting to wake the person up._

_He slowly covered him with one of the two jackets he brought. He then placed the face towel and few water bottles beside the sleeping lad and went over the court where the balls are everywhere._

_"Does this team even know how to clean up?" The unknown lad whispered, shook his head and smiled a little._

_He began picking the balls up and placing them in both the ball containers and placed them inside the maintenance room._

_After he fixed those, he also dissembled the volleyball net. He remained as quiet as he could trying his hardest to not wake Taehyun up. The poles were heavier than he expected, but he still tried carrying it by himself, lessening Taehyun's works when he woke up._

_After his business in the gym, he went out of the gym and out of the campus, without a single person noticing him._

"Choi Beomgyu!" A sound of a stick getting smashed against the table brought Beomgyu out of his thoughts. He didn't realize that his English teacher was calling him to recite.

Mrs. Ramirez, Beomgyu's English teacher felt worried instead of feeling disrespected. She'd been seeing Beomgyu completely zoning out and having a hard time focusing on his studies.

For the past day, Beomgyu wanted to admit that he was mad, hurt, and anxious about why his teammates aren't looking for him, but his pride won't let him.

Without hearing the teacher's lectures, he continued looking at the window that showed the open area of the campus. Other class' PE were held there.

He had no idea what's going on inside his classroom until his classmate behind him tapped his shoulder which led him to pay attention to the class.

"Choi Beomgyu, for the last time, I said recite the 4th stanza of the poem located at the page 146. After this class, kindly follow me to the faculty room, we need to talk."

Mrs. Ramirez said with a worried tone and not a scolding one. She knew something wasn't right with Beomgyu and it's not the right time for her to scold the younger.

Beomgyu nodded and recited the stanza. He managed to use the right tone, and read at the right pace. His classmates were almost surprised by the fact that Beomgyu had been staring at the window for the whole day but he still managed to know what to do.

As soon as Beomgyu finished reciting, he sat back down and continued to stare at the window.

Mrs. Ramirez secretly sighed, relieved that Beomgyu is somehow still catching up even if he wasn't really looking at the board, but she still needs to talk to him about whatever is happening.

Time passed by like a flash, English being the last subject of the day, everyone packed their belongings, and started running through the crowded hallway. Beomgyu stayed inside the room, loving how quiet it is inside.

It was quiet and peaceful, until someone decided to open the classroom door, which irritated the lad. He was about to go outside when he remembered that his English teacher ordered him to go to the faculty.

But as soon as he turned himself around, he saw a lad, holding letters and his favorite tulips. He didn't expect him to even show up after all of the weeks passed.

His eyes widened seeing the shorter lad standing infront of him without saying anything.

"Wow, my so called boyfriend finally looked for me after almost 2 months, amazing." Beomgyu stated in sarcasm. Taehyun kept quiet, he knew it was his fault- it was partially his fault.

Beomgyu was hurt with what he said, he knew Taehyun was too, but he kept quiet and looked everywhere except the younger.

Beomgyu showed that he's annoyed, but deep inside he wanted to hug the shorter and shower his face with kisses.

The younger handed out the tulips and letter, only to be ignored by the older. Beomgyu saw lots of students peeking and looking through the wide window at the other side of the classroom where the hallways are clearly visible.

People looked at them, they were watching them. But Beomgyu couldn't care less. His conscience is forcing him to say something, even though he's mad, to clear Taehyun's thoughts, but he can't, he won't.

He sighed and took two steps ahead of Taehyun. He felt guilty with just staying quiet and decided to say something.

"I need to go to the faculty, we'll talk later, I love you." Beomgyu blushed as he whispered the last phrase. He walked out of the room, head hung low, still blushing.

Taehyun smiled, he missed the older's voice so much. It was more than enough. But the last phrase the older uttered made his heart skip a beat.

He got nervous, and stood there without saying anything.

Beomgyu later on realized, that Taehyun didn't say 'I love you' back. He wondered what's wrong, but he shrugged it off for now, remembering that he still needed to go to the faculty.

Nonetheless, seeing his boyfriend still made him smile. He continued to walk down the hallways and stairs and entered the faculty.

As he opens the door, the cold air inside the faculty hit his face sending him shivers. There were few teachers there, most of them, he's familiar with. He saw Mrs. Ramirez's table and proceeded on making his way towards the table located at the end of the left side of the parallel wall.

As soon as he reached the spot, he sat down on a chair infront of the table.

His teacher noticed his presence and immediately stopped what she's doing and started to talk to the student.

Seeing students gather up infront of a classroom, A tall lad peeked through the crowd, where he spotted a shorter student who stood in the middle of the classroom alone.

He instantly recognized who it was and rushed inside the classroom.

"Babe, how's your talk with Beomgyu?" The tall lad appeared before Taehyun, and placed his hands on the shorter's shoulders.

Taehyun looked up for a split second and recognized who it was. He looked at Kai and blinked before zoning out again.

Kai grew worried. Though Taehyun earned a habit of zoning out every once in a while, he never zoned out like this.

Normally, if he called the shorter's name, he would snap out of his own little world but this time, he didn't.

The shorter lad hasn't replied since. He's still staring into nothingness. His mind processing what Beomgyu told him.

 _I love you_... The phrase that kept repeating inside his mind, without him knowing.

It keeps repeating inside his head. Those phrases that Beomgyu uttered, made him guilty. Did he misunderstood what happened? Is he wrong that Beomgyu wanted to break up with him?

Did beomgyu even had his phone? Did Beomgyu saw his texts? Did Beomgyu still cared about him and it's just him who forgot about the other?

Taehyun is still infront of Kai, staring at nothingness, when he started to came to his senses just because of the 3 magic words Beomgyu kept telling him to reassure him.

_"Beomgyu, do you need to say something to me?" Taehyun asked his boyfriend, eager to know the truth of the recent incident he got involved._

_They're currently inside the club room, changing their clothes after their afternoon practice. It's only the two of them inside the room, since they stayed until 7 pm, the closing time of the school gym._

_Taehyun was wiping his face with the towel he picked up from his bag while Beomgyu was tying his shoelaces. The older was clearly nervous, at how Taehyun asked him the question._

_He didn't want Taehyun to stress about him so much but what can he do? Once you committed into a relationship, your problem can never be yours alone._

_"Love, it was nothing, he was just harassing one of the students and I needed to step into the situation because the lower class guy was about to hyperventilate." Beomgyu explained while he packed his things. Taehyun smiled and sighed in relief._

_Beomgyu catched the sigh and giggled to himself. He thought to himself that Taehyun was clearly worrying about things again._

_As he was done packing, he walked towards the younger who was facing the mirror located at the near right corner of the room._

_He smiled and wrapped his hands around the younger's waist, back hugging him. Taehyun was startled as he was trying to put his concealer on, nonetheless he placed his make up on the table and held the older's arms._

_"Love, I told you to not worry anymore. I promised to not hurt anybody, I promised that because I love you right?" Beomgyu uttered, making Taehyun laugh quietly. Those three magic words, were the only things that assured the younger more than anything else._

_Those sweet gestures, whispers and statements... the only person who makes his heart flutter whenever they do that, is Beomgyu._

Memories filled Taehyun, remembering every single moment that Beomgyu genuinely waited for him, no matter how long he needed to wait.

Ignoring the fact that students are still around him, he continued to explore his own memories, his memories with Beomgyu.

He reached the place of his memories where Beomgyu used to assure him with his touches and words.

He remembered every single tone Beomgyu used when he told him he loves the younger.

Beomgyu was keeping him for good, but Taehyun got distracted. He forgot about how good Beomgyu was loving and keeping him. It was always Beomgyu who's making an effort, what about him?

Taehyun made a mistake. A mistake that got misunderstood by him, Kai, and Beomgyu.

His eyes started to feel watery, heart heavy as his flow of thoughts continued.

Kai held his shoulders tighter, wanting him to snap out of his thoughts, but he just can't snap out of it.

Kai was persistent, Taehyun started to get a grip of what's happening around him. He looked straightly at the eye of the taller, expression blank, not believing that he made a big mistake.

"Taehyun... hey..." Kai smiled but still panicked, not knowing what to do but hug him. He doesn't have a single idea at why Taehyun is zoning out, but he knew Beomgyu got to be connected with this.

As soon as he hugged the younger, he got pushed away. Kai lost his balance and fell on the floor, knocking few chairs and tables.

He looked at the shorter who was trembling, the flowers and letter escaped his hand and fell, slowly touching the floor.

Taehyun took a step back, his face pale and expressionless. He was looking at Kai, he wanted to apologize but his mouth and throat can't.

He uttered phrases and mumbled curses until he had decided the sentence he wanted to say. A sentence, that would hurt both him and Kai, but it needed to be said.

"Kai, I think this is all... just a misunderstanding... I-I don't think Beongyu ghosted me or left me, h-he just wanted to be found" Taehyun said with a trembling voice and ran out of the room and went through the hallways, and towards the faculty.

His breath hitched as tears started streaming down his emotionless face. He needed to get to Beomgyu quickly, he needed to explain.

**_Ho_ ** **_w can I forget our promise? How can I forget my own promise? How can I break my own promise?_ **

"But Beomgyu, are you sure? I mean, you love this sport right?" Mrs. Ramirez asked, her face showing worriedness towards the student who was smiling weakly.

For some moments, the room went quiet and the sound of the Air-conditioner filling the silence.

Beomgyu looked at his bag and spotted a pendant, a half of the volleyball pendant, which brought back memories to him.

He touched it for a moment, remembering the night that it was given to him.

He looked away from the bag and removed it from his hand, letting it hang on the strap of his bag again.

He looked up and smiled at the teacher again, before talking and answering the question given to him.

"Ma'am, I really loved this sport, but I don't think I could still play without my best partner, not here, not inside this place. And the bond... was just not there, we lost it." The teacher was almost in tears. He didn't know that this is what's all behind their relationship.

It struck her heart, she felt the love Beomgyu was giving Taehyun with just the words that he uttered. Mrs. Ramirez wanted anything more but to help.

She stared at him in awe, her heart breaking slowly as tears started to flow down his cheeks. The sight was awful.

Knowing that he already changed made it far more worse.

Beomgyu failed to control his tears. But one other favor would finish everything up.

"Mrs. Ramirez, I don't think I can talk to our coach or to the club adviser, I-I just can't bring myself to go to the room or gym, where I know, I would see him." Beomgyu spoke. Mrs. Ramirez smiled and nodded, understanding the situation of the student.

[few minutes ago...]

_"Ma'am you see, I was manipulative and toxic back in elementary. During my first and second year of highschool, Everyone despised me. Even if I'm the best setter of our team, I can't bring them to trust me."_

_Beomgyu softly spoke, smiling, trying to hide that he misses the younger and he wanted to go and hug him._ _The teacher infront of him stared at him, and to his soul._

_Mrs. Ramirez was shocked, but she kept quiet and listened to the student's story carefully. She was glad that the student already changed, but the story behind his past attitude haunted her._

_Beomgyu is nervous but he still needed to let the story out._ _It was all to clear things up._

_Luckily, all of the teachers already went home and Mrs. Ramirez was the only teacher inside the faculty._

_"Then Taehyun magically appeared out of nowhere during my third year. I was amazed by his skills, that's when I unconsciously stopped being manipulative and started depending and trusting him." Beomgyu continued, looking back at his memories with Taehyun._

_It suddenly felt like the room became cold, it wasn't the air-conditioner, it's his insides wanting to cry but tears won't just come out._

_"So Kang Taehyun, changed you?"_ _Mrs. Ramirez asked which led Beomgyu to chuckle a bit. He wasn't being cocky. That's just how he reacts to things... most of the time._

 _"He didn't change me, he replaced me with a better version of myself. Then after we got deeper into our relationship, our team became undefeatable."_ _He explained_ _surprising the teacher infront of him._

_She was surprised at how big his words can get. She thought that Taehyun really had a big effect on him._

_'Change' isn't the right word to use. It didn't sit right. Looking back, he didn't feel like it was him. It was a different person from who he is right now._

_Beomgyu continued to tell their story to Mrs. Ramirez. He told her the important events that went between the two of them, and that includes the promise they made._

_"We had this promise. We... promised to each other to continue to be the better version of ourselves and not hurt anybody... a-and, if the time has come that we found someone better than us, we shouldn't hesitate to cut the_ _strings_ _. And I think, he already found his._ _"_

_[3rd week of practice without Beomgyu, Match day]_

_The volleyball team are on their way to the court where they'll hold their game. Going against one of the top 4 universities, they're clearly nervous._

_The regular players brought their uniforms, and the other club members plus the students who are excused to their classes to cheer for the players are all at venue._

_The main court is a floor lower than the benches. The audiences should all be at the benches at the second floor._

_The game of the 4th and 3rd university, Olimnus and Orian, Olimnus being the 4th, Orian being the 3rd._

_Students and audiences of both universities started to settle down as the team players entered the court._

_Cheers and screams were heard, almost deafening themselves._

_Olimnus' team were all nervous, especially when Beomgyu isn't around. Before they were sure that they will win as long as Beomgyu is around but now... they become unsure._

_At the benches, sat some students from senior years. From second year to fourth year, there are students from each year. Two of them happened to have a friend that is a regular player of the volleyball team._

_By the time the players started stretching, they got confused about the new team member and why their friend was missing._

_The lad with eye-glasses furrowed his eyes and looked at the man beside him. He leaned towards his right side– to the other person's ears for him to hear what he's about to say since the crowd is getting noisier by the second._

_"Babe, I thought Beomgyu's playing?" The lad with eye-glasses spoke. His raven hair covering almost his whole glasses. The lad sitting beside him, his boyfriend, was also confused._

_"Maybe he got replaced or something? I'm sure he's a regular player so I don't know why he isn't there." The lad with turtle neck sweater answered. They kept looking for their friend but they can't find him, until they both received a tap on their shoulders._

_They looked at who's hands were those and there they saw Beomgyu smiling at them, wearing his his volleyball jacket and a black jogger pants._

_Both the latters looked at him in confusion and disbelief. He laughed it off and sat beside the taller man with eye-glasses._

_As soon as he sat on the bench, he got questioned by the raven haired lad._

_"Can your bitch ass explain what's happening and why you're not playing? Both of us are confused you know?" The raven haired snapped like a mother. Beomgyu rolled his eyes and faced both of his friends._

_"Calm down Soob, Yeonjun. I just decided to ditch the team– anyways, the match is starting so let's just watch" Beomgyu joked with the second statement. Yeonjun laughed it off and Soobin rolled his eyes, wanting to choke the younger to death but he won't attempt to murder a junior._

_They stayed quiet as well as the crowd. The side of their university took out water bottles and flags. The marching band went to their respective places and they're planning to cheer louder that their last cheer._

_The players stopped their stretching and about to line up when their coach of the opposing team called for an emergency._

_The security instantly checked what it was and it turned out that it was nothing. They continued to line up and said their greetings._

_Minutes of game preparations later both teams took their positions and got ready for the match._

_The Olimnus' #7 Huening Kai was the first player to serve._

_Hearing the referee's whistle, Kai throwed the ball in the air and prepared to jump, doing a float serve._

_As soon as he hit the ball, the object landed on the empty space between the two back players of the Orian team._

_They were caught off guard at how fast and powerful the serve was._

_The first game point was earned by Olimnus university because of the serve Kai made._

_His serve continued to earn them a point, leading the point to 4-0_

_It finally got cut off with the fifth serve a line spike from the other team._

_The game is going great, it wasn't easy for the team, but it wasn't hard either._

_Yeonjun, Beomgyu, and Soobin were all observing the team's plays. The two latter praising Kai which pissed Beomgyu off._

_Yeonjun saw it and laughed at him quietly._

_"Someone here ditched their team and now is jealous, not only that their boyfriend is playing without him but also because he was replaced as a setter and no longer acknowledge by his team" Yeonjun teased which lead to Beomgyu shutting him off. Soobin also shut his boyfriend off, it seemed like he went overboard with what he said._

_Beomgyu continued to watch the game, loving how great a player Taehyun is._

_The game went well in general, The first set claimed by the Olimnus university and the second set claimed by the other._

_They're now in their 3rd set with three deuces._

_Beomgyu suddenly felt like he was experiencing a Déjà vu. He felt like this already happened with him and Taehyun last timeand the only difference is that he wasn't the person Taehyun is playing with right now._

_The score is 34-33, Olimnus getting the lead. They're at match point and they're doing this best to win it with this last attack._

_The ball was served by #7 which got received at the other net, the other team's formation got messed up, which was actually Olimnus' plan._

_The ball went over the net and got received by #12, Olimnus' libero. He received it perfectly and the ball ended up completely over the setter's head._

_The setter looked at the #2_ _who was raising his hand and called for the set. Both of them were looking at the ball, getting ready for their winning attack._

_"Taehyun!" The setter shouted and quickly tossed the ball to Taehyun for him to hit._

_Taehyun rushed towards the left side of the court. He delayed his jump, the blockers jumping before he did._

_He succeeded on tricking them and he finally jumped and hit the ball successfully ending the game._

_Beomgyu saw all of that, it really was the same as their last game during junior high._

_He watched the younger carefully. He was smiling widely and cheering. He immediately ran towards the setter for a hug and the setter acknowledged the hug._

_It pained Beomgyu. He experienced Déjà vu, but instead of himself involved, another person who's Taehyun was fond of was involved._

_With that he's done. He stood up from his seat and exited the venue. Soobin was about to ask what's up with him but Yeonjun stopped him and shook his head._

_"Let him figure out his emotions, I know he's jealous, but more importantly, Taehyun was being oblivious about his boyfriend." Yeonjun calmly said which was understood by Soobin immediately._

_Soobin frowned, feeling worried about Beomgyu._

_Meanwhile, Beomgyu started crying as soon as he left the court. He thought that him not attending the practices_ _, was the worst thing he did and it lead to what happened today._

_"It looks like you already found the person that'll make you happy more than I did." He whispered to himself and looked up at the sky and the wind adapted with his emotions. The sun was so bright, it shone directly above him._

_It's warm. It felt like Taehyun's warmth._

Taehyun's heart kept pounding. He kept running towards the faculty. He tripped multiple times as his legs felt weak, finally getting an idea of why his boyfriend decided to skip practice.

Taehyun kept mumbling words, hoping that it would reach the older. He kept running as fast as he could for him to quickly reach his destination.

Minutes of running through the quiet corridor, Taehyun finally reached the faculty. He was face to face with the door.

He hesitated to knock and open it, since he expected Beomgyu to be there but as soon as he knocked and opened the door, he saw Mrs. Ramirez and no one else. She was sitting on the chair behind her desk finishing couple of paperworks and test papers from her students.

Taehyun was panting, and now he got frustrated. He groan as tears continued to fall down his cheeks.

The cold air coming from the room just gave him a lot more shivers, feeling the coldness of space without the touch of Beomgyu.

Mrs. Ramirez looked at the door, seeing his figure. She smiled worriedly with how the younger is panting heavily and crying.

She looked at him for a while, and finally recognized who he was. She gulped as she knew exactly what was going on.

"Mr. Kang, what are you doing here?" She asked and smiled. She placed down her pen and closed the textbook she's checking.

She examined the student's appearance, he was trembling, amd it look like he would faint anytime.

"Ma'am, I-I'm looking for Choi Beom-"

"He left this room not less than ten minutes ago, he could still be at the end of the hallway" Mrs. Ramirez cut the student off, she smiled and got back to what she's doing. Taehyun stood there, still processing the information he got.

After moments of processing the information, he ran as fast as he could so he could catch up with the older.

He didn't forget to thank the teacher for telling him.

**_I made a mistake. I need to explain, please- please wait for me._ **

_"A key ch_ _ain?" Beomgyu asked as Taehyun gave him a keychain. The younger nodded and smiled._

_Wind blowed towards their direction that sent shivers to their spines. It's currently night time, they're infront of the gate of Taehyun's house. Beomgyu wanted to keep Taehyun safe, and because of that he's consistently sending him home._

_"It's actually a volleyball pendant, I cut it in half and made a key chain." Taehyun smiled and picked up the older's hands._

_He placed the key chain on Beomgyu's palms and closed it. Beomgyu looked at him, confused at what he is doing._

_"Beom, keep that. The other half is with me." Taehyun said and showed the other half of the volleyball pendant. Beomgyu smiled as Taehyun went inside their house._

_He stood there, waiting for the younger to reach his room and wave him goodbye._

_He looked at the pendant thoroughly. In front of it shows half of the volleyball design, and at the back, shows a smiley face._

_Beomgyu laughed at what he saw. Taehyun can be cute even if he's not doing anything grand. His simple actions are what made him precious._

_He stopped laughing and looked up at the window at the left side of the second story house. Taehyun was there smiling at him. He smiled back and Taehyun immediately blew him a kiss._

_He giggled and acted like he catched it and placed it on his lips which made Taehyun gasp and flustered. He closed his window and Beomgyu, once again laugh at how cute the younger is._

_He started walking away from the house and headed to the dark street with a smile plastered on his face._

Beomgyu walked down the stairs a step after another. It's been almost an hour since their dismissal and no students are around.

He was zoning out again, not knowing where he was going. He let his feet bring him where it wanted.

He's walking too slow, his mind going blank after reminiscing every memory he had with Taehyun.

From the day Taehyun came to his life, to the day he visited him at the gym because he knew he'd stay in the gymnasium. The way Taehyun sleeps cutely with his mouth slightly open, to the point of quitting their volleyball team.

He kept thinking about the consequences of quitting their volleyball team. The only place he got accepted.

He's walking with tears in his eyes, convincing himself that it was for the better.

"Right, I can still find other things to excel in. I just need to try." He whispered to himself and sighed. He stopped walking when he realized that he bumped into something, seconds ago.

"No pillars was around, that could be a person" He once again whispered. He turned around and apologized not knowing who's the person he bumped onto.

He kept walking and zoning out, the person behind him following him around, ad he circled through hallways until the unknown person cannot take the pain anymore.

He ran towards Beomgyu, hugging him tightly and crying. That's when Beomgyu realized who he bumped onto.

"Taehyun?" Taehyun's heart broke. It was rare for the older to call him Taehyun, he always go with Tyun or Love, but now... he called him by his name.

Taehyun's hug got tighter. Beomgyu forcefully unwrapping the younger's arms around his waist.

They were alone in the middle of the dim lighted corridor. Taehyun kept resisting, but his arms are starting to hurt which made him remove his hands from the older's waist completely.

"Didn't we promise that... we'll not hesitate to cut the strings when we already found someone better than the each other? Go to Kai, he loves you, and you loves him" Beomgyu said without turning around. He fixed the strap of his shoulder bag the volleyball pendant clashing with the zipper of the bag making a sound.

"Beom, I thought you wanted to break up with me or something else, I never thought that was your real intention–"

Taehyun got cut off with the loud trembling voice of the older telling him to shut his mouth. He walked towards him and attempted to hug him but Beomgyu turned around and talked to him face to face, directly looking at his eyes.

Beomgyu held the shorter's hands and massaged it a bit. Taehyun started to calm, his eyes suffering at how painful the older looks.

"So if it is my intention, will you fulfill our promise of cutting the strings between us?" Beomgyu asked with a trembling voice, his tears continued to flow.

The question caught the other off-guard. It wasn't a question he believed that would even come from the older's mouth.

"Beom–" Taehyun was once again cut off by the older who were closing his eyes.

"If it was my intention, will you let yourself be happy with a person better than me?" Beomgyu's voice got louder, the veins on his neck started to get visible as it started to get harder for him to control his emotions.

 ** _'Taehyun, tell me that you'll be happy, that's enough for me to let you go'_** Beomgyu thought to himself. He want to say it out loud but Taehyun would just be so stubborn and it their whole conversation would be pointless since Beomgyu would surrender like the other times.

"What if I said I would? What if I said I woud be happier with Kai?" Taehyun questioned him back, expecting the older to back out from his words, instead he was surprised that the older opened his eyes and smiled at him painfully.

Beomgyu let go of the younger's hands. Taehyun knew this won't end good. As soon as Beomgyu took a step back, he turned around and spoke.

"Then let's cut the strings now. That's the only thing I wanted to hear from you, Taehyun." Beomgyu said before slowly walking away from the younger.

Taehyun attempted to walk after him but Beomgyu stopped his tracks.

"Don't follow me. We're already strangers remember?"

With that Beomgyu continued to walk through the hallway. He heard Taehyun's cries. It was loud and painful. But it's what should be done.

No one knew that Kai followed them. Kai rushed towards Taehyun by the time he lost sight of Beomgyu. He held the shorter in his arms, as Taehyun's legs weakened. Kai stayed quiet as he let Taehyun cry out his emotions. He sat down and completely hugged Taehyun, rubbing his back for him to gain comfort just a bit.

Beomgyu reached the end of the hallway when he remembered about the pendant Taehyun gave him. He meant to give it back to the younger but as soon as he started walking, he caught a glimpse of Taehyun in Kai's arms, still crying. Kai was comforting him which made Beomgyu sigh, as a tear dropped from his eye.

He smiled and decided to throw the pendant away on the nearest trash bin.

"I think know, what they said is real. We really broke up."

**_Taehyun, now that you found someone better than me, as your boyfriend, and your setter, r_** **_emember that you always shine brighter than the stars. Your warmth will always be warmer than the sun._ **

**_Love, you made me realize that I can do better, that I can be better._ ** **_With Kai, you'll always fly high like an eagle soaring and conquering the sky._ **

**_Fly high for your dreams._ **

**_Fly higher for our dreams._ **

**_Fly my eagle..._ **

**_Fly for me... my love._**


End file.
